Not that hot an idea. Now the iron sight would be even higher over the bore axis and thus precision shots at ranges much harder.

High sights have been a problem for the AR system. Many a recruit has shot the sand bags in front of the rifle cause they failed to allow for the higher sight and thus the bore was well below the top of the sand bags.

For PRECISION shooting, were a inch or two above or below the bore axis can cause a miss, one needs their sights as low as possible. And for emergency shooting where one cannot take the time to take the optic off one needs sights that are there, right there.

That is why BUIS sights that are 45 degrees off the top of the action are desirable now. One just cants their weapon over to see the sights and keep shooting.

Deaf

__________________
“To you who call yourselves ‘men of peace,’ I say, you are not safe without men of action by your side” Thucydides

If my scope goes out, I’ll just pack up and go home.
I don’t see a legally defensible reason to be in such a dire need to shoot that my pistol isn’t already in hand; I’m a civilian, a rifle is for recreational use to me.
Now law enforcement people may need some back-up sights, but I think that has been well covered already.
But I like the spirit of the post, why not use a protrusion that’s already there?

Personally, I use a red dot with an LT751 quick release mount and buis. Absolute co-witness so you could use the irons through the glass in an emergency. But there probably won't ever be an emergency at the range.

The deflector just seems to be the wrong place to put a sight. Your face would have to be behind the stock it seems.

Meh. Iron sight break too. And at this point, optics and irons are at a similar place in terms of durability. Hell, even battery life isn't much of an issue anymore now that PA has made available a red dot with 50K on a single battery that is as affordable as most quality folding BUIS.

This is a valid point. Get good quality optics and you are less likely to need your irons. In the situations where your optics is completely opaque (lens smashed, muddy or otherwise unusable) you can use a QD mount.

To the OPs problem, I'm starting to lean more towards 1-6x or 1-4x optics where I can rapidly switch power from close-in to long range. I use illuminated but etched articles (dots, circle dots or ^ reticles).

If the battery dies I still have a black reticle. If the scope is trashed to where I can't see through it, I pop the QD and toss it, switching to traditional inline irons (I've had to simulate this; other than dead batteries, I've never had a scope actually fail on me yet and I'm hard on my equipment).

Again, everything has compromise. If there was a best solution to this for everyone, we wouldn't have the myriad of options out there. The 45 degree sights are quickly available, but I don't like a solution that won't let me shoot weak side around cover or barrier.

To the OPs problem, I'm starting to lean more towards 1-6x or 1-4x optics where I can rapidly switch power from close-in to long range. I use illuminated but etched articles (dots, circle dots or ^ reticles).

If the battery dies I still have a black reticle. If the scope is trashed to where I can't see through it, I pop the QD and toss it, switching to traditional inline irons (I've had to simulate this; other than dead batteries, I've never had a scope actually fail on me yet and I'm hard on my equipment).

Primary Arms tactical scopes fit this to a T--the only drawback is that they are made in China--any optic I've ever had that was made in China always had a significant probability of failure included as a standard feature.

Primary Arms and Vortex both make good stuff at a budget price point. Both have excellent customer service as well. They are not Zeiss or even Leupold in clarity or fit/finish, but very good for the price point.

Vortex is known for their lifetime no BS warranty. PA does not have a lifetime warranty on all their products, but the do on some. The PA 1-6 and 1-8 ACSS scopes are, for example.

Google around and you'll see positive comments from those with realistic expectations of what they are getting for the money.

I have 2 of the PA 1 x 6 ACSS scopes--they are superb blends of fast-acquire "red dots" with scope magnification getting you the necessary reach for the calibers. Clarity is good considering Chinese-made.

Off topic, but I broke a Vortex 4-16x42 using a defective mount and they gave me a new and even better model no questions asked. Turnaround was 8-9 days. New model had a bdc reticle. Very happy with Vortex.

Considering the age of this post, I can't believe nobody has really hit on the most important reason why a Shell Deflector cannot be integrated into a Sight. Mechanically, it would be possible. But what it really boils down to is this-- Your shell deflector would become a Sight Deflector and we all know that would summon bad juju. There. Ya'll can thank me later, I'll be here all night.

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